Living Arrangements
by blam-babe
Summary: [GS] Sara has been kicked out of her apartment, and has no where to live. Who can help her? WIP
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to, I don't own any of these characters. (  
  
Chapter One  
  
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As Sara Sidle peacefully drifted off to sleep in front of her television, she was suddenly awoken by a loud knocking on her apartment door.  
  
"Who could that be?" she muttered to herself as she stumbled across her lounge room floor to her apartment door. "Everyone knows I work the graveyard shift." She opened the door.  
  
"Miss Sidle?"  
  
"Yes" Sara sleepily replied, leaning against the doorframe.  
  
"Oh I'm sorry, this looks like a bad time. I'll come back later."  
  
"No" she interrupted, "It's fine." Sara said as she stifled a yawn and carefully studied the man, trying to work out where she had seen him before. He wasn't someone from work, well, not from her shift anyway. Maybe he was one of the new day shift people who she hadn't met yet. Not that she knew them that well anyway. The man suddenly interrupted her chain of thought "Oh, how rude of me. I'm Bill Sanderson, the owner of this apartment" Sara grogginess suddenly went away, and was quickly replaced with confusion. What was the owner doing here, in her apartment? He was supposed to be away. In fact, he was supposed to be anywhere but at her front door. It was as if Mr Sanderson had read her mind.  
  
"You look confused Miss Sidle, are you alright?"  
  
"Yes, yes I'm fine. Um, sorry, but I thought you were in Europe?"  
  
"Didn't you get my letter?" Her blank expression answered his question. "Why don't we sit down somewhere and I'll explain everything to you."  
  
"Oh, sorry, "said Sara. She had forgotten to invite him in. "Come in" she said as she gestured inside her apartment. Mr Sanderson quickly glanced around. Sara moved over to her old, comfortable but worn couch and sat down. "Here, sit" she told Mr Sanderson, as she waved her arm to indicate where he should sit. Instead he chose the chair - slightly taller than the rest of her furniture, giving him a more intimidating feel. Sara noticed that now he was properly inside her apartment, he was looking around, taking everything in - the placement of the table, the television, how she had set up her belongings on the shelves. This made Sara uncomfortable. She didn't usually have people over. Usually if she went anywhere it was with her colleagues, and that was usually to the café around the corner from the lab, or Catherine's house. The last time anyone had come over was Hank, and that was before she found out about that other woman, Elaine. Sara shuddered when she remembered the picture of Hank and Elaine together, and how as soon as she got home she destroyed all evidence of Hank. That was one benefit of being a CSI - knowing how to thoroughly destroy evidence, even if it was for your emotional benefit only. Out of the corner of her eye, Sara saw Mr Sanderson watching her, having finished his analysis of the apartment.  
  
"Oh, sorry," she replied "Can I get you a drink or something?"  
  
"No, I'm fine," he replied  
  
"Now, what did you want to talk to me about" Sara asked, turning fully around to face him.  
  
"Well, Miss Sidle, the truth of the matter is that my family and I have returned form Europe early."  
  
"That I can see" Sara muttered to herself  
  
"And we'd like to get settled back into Las Vegas as soon as possible." Mr Sanderson said bluntly. Sara was shocked.  
  
"So, you want me to move?" Sara couldn't believe it. Her apartment was her life, her sanctuary. Ever since Grissom had told her to 'get a life', she had been doing everything and anything she could to make a life. Including making her home a home.  
  
"Well, yes. As soon as possible. Can you be out of here in one week?"  
  
"One week?" Sara weakly replied  
  
"Yes, that would be excellent if you could do that." Mr Sanderson no longer appeared so nice to Sara. Here he was, appearing out of the blue, destroying more of her life than what was already in ruins. But she knew that she couldn't fight him. Her contract wasn't strong, and she knew that she had to move as soon as she was told. There was no way that she could fight it. And Mr Sanderson was fully aware of that. "Well, I must be going," said the now apparently evil Mr Sanderson.  
  
"Yeah, I have to get ready for work, " Sara absently said. She felt drained and exhausted.  
  
"I'll see you in a week then, Miss Sidle" said Mr Sanderson as he walked to her door. The door that was soon to become his door. "I'll give you a call later on in the week, and we can arrange key transfers and other details like that."  
  
"Ok," she replied, "See you then." She then shut the door on him, and leaned against the wall, cradling her face in her hands. "God damn" Sara said to herself, as she slid down the wall, and landed on the floor with a bump. "God damn." 


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to, I don't own any of these characters.  
  
Note: This is an edit- I realised that writing and posting on the same day isn't a very good idea because I want to change some things (my mind is very active when I go to sleep!!!), and also I decided that Warrick's girlfriend shouldn't be a man! (thanks joey des anges!) Thanks for your reviews and your support! :) Ok, so here it goes -  
  
Chapter Two  
  
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"There," said Gil Grissom as he signed the last necessary form after his team had once again solved a crime, "All done." He had begun quietly talking to himself after his ear operation, just to confirm with himself that his hearing was still there. It had been a rough few months ever since his hearing had begun to deteriorate, and he had only just made it through when he decided that enough was enough, and something had to be done. It was just like solving a crime, he had repeatedly told himself - evidence had to be collected before it was solved, just like his hearing had to be fixed before he could continue a normal life, with normal relationships. Well, normal enough for him anyway. Gil had never been good at handling people, and this was often shown with his constant referral to Catherine as 'the people person' when it came to dealing with suspects or witnesses. Catherine often saw this as a cop out on his behalf, and he knew it, but it was true. He wasn't much of a people person, and this was also shown in his dealings with Sara. They hadn't talked to each other, or worked together for so long, and then bang, she asked him out to dinner. At the worst time possible for him, for both of them in fact, he reasoned. "I did the right thing though," Grissom mumbled to himself, rethinking the events of that night. "Didn't I?" he said, mumbling to himself. Then he heard it. A small noise, just quiet enough to hear, but not loud enough to notice. At least he thought that he heard it. 'Zip' There it was again! He listened harder. No one was supposed to be in the lab for a while. All the graveyard shift workers had gone home, and the day shift were using another part of the building, waiting for the lab to be rebuilt, after the explosion. Silence prevailed. Then he heard it again. "That's it," he said as he slowly got up from his desk, "Now I'm checking it out."  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
As Sara slid into her sleeping bag in the breakroom, and settled down to sleep, the last thing she expected to see was Grissom standing in the doorway, staring down at her.  
  
"Sara," said Grissom in a slightly reprimanding tone, "What on earth are you doing?" Sara jumped slightly, surprised to see him there. However, her surprise was quickly replaced with shock. 'At least he's talking to me now' Sara thought as she looked up at his tall figure, silhouetted against the dim light from the corridor.  
  
"What does it look like I'm doing, " Sara replied back to Grissom, mirroring the same reprimanding tone he used on her, "going to sleep."  
  
"I can see that," he said, moving over towards her, and squatting on the ground beside her sleeping bag, "but why here?"  
  
"Don't worry," she sighed, "it has nothing to do with you, and it's not affecting my work in anyway, so -" she was cut off quickly by Grissom  
  
"Anything that has to do with any CSI's life affects their work, and therefore has something to do with me, be it what you're eating, what relationships you have -"  
  
Sara suddenly butted in, annoyed with Grissom interfering in her personal life "How do my relationships have anyth -"  
  
"Let me finish, Sara," Grissom said. She stared at him for a few seconds, and then slightly nodded, "And finally, where you're living. Now tell me what you're doing here." He said the last part softly, and gently. Sara could see genuine compassion in his eyes, and she sighed heavily,  
  
"Fine, I'll tell you. You would have found out soon anyway," she said defiantly, climbing out of her sleeping bag. She was dressed in a long mans shirt, and pyjama shorts. Grissom stood up, and gestured for her to sit down at the break room table beside him, by pulling out a chair for her. She sat down, slightly uncomfortable by the fact that she was wearing casual clothes, that, in fact didn't cover much, and not her usual work attire.  
  
"So," Grissom said, looking at her with a slight smile, unaware of her embarrassment, "tell me what you're doing here, and maybe then we can work something out."  
  
"Well," she said with a large sigh, "I was kicked out of my apartment by my landlord who decided to return from Europe six weeks early. He was supposed to write me a letter saying that I should be fully packed and ready to move by the time he got back, but, of course, it never arrived."  
  
"Ok," he said slowly, taking in all the information.  
  
"So to cut it all short, I ended up moving in with Catherine for a week, which, might I tell you, is not all that it's cut out to be" she added with a smile. "Imagine not being able to use the bathroom for a good hour every morning, and tripping over Barbie dolls every five seconds. Not that Lindsey's a great kid and all, but you know how I am with kids." Grissom smiled at this comment. Sara had always told him, and the rest of the team how bad she was with children, but they all knew that that wasn't true. Kids adored her, and she secretly adored them.  
  
"So then you came here?" Grissom asked.  
  
"No! Of course not! Why would I give up there? I stayed with Nicky for two nights, and that just became too weird, with all his video game obsessions. He made me play Nintendo with him the entire time I was there. And you know how I couldn't use Catherine's bathroom?" Grissom nodded, "Well, I actually didn't want to use Nicky's!" she added with a laugh.  
  
"So, then what happened?" Grissom asked. He was obviously hooked on her story.  
  
"Then I went to Warrick's place, but then his new girlfriend got jealous and practically threw me out the door!" This caused Grissom to smile, as he imagined Sara and Warrick trying to explain to Warricks new belle who exactly Sara was.  
  
"Continue, " said Grissom.  
  
"Then Greg offered to let me stay with him, but I only stayed one night, because his place was, well, to be frank, weird. It was just like my older brothers bedroom when he was a teenager, except it was a whole apartment. Picture semi-naked women posters all over the walls, and this shag carpet rug that he swore was originally grey." Grissom smiled. "He had some good CD's though, but he played them all the time, so I couldn't sleep. Then I stayed with Archie, but only one night, because all his computer equipment stayed on all the time and kept me awake. It was clean though, which was a nice change from Greg's. The David offered to let me live with him, and he's cute and all, but he has this 'thing' for me, you know? And I wasn't sure if I'd wake up one morning and find him staring at me. So then I decided to stay at the lab. And now you've found me on night two, and I guess I can't sleep here anymore." She added the last part defiantly, as if to make a point.  
  
"Hang on," Grissom said, "I never said that you couldn't sleep here." Sara could tell that he was slightly annoyed. "It just doesn't look that comfortable. Why don't you try a motel or something?"  
  
"Are you kidding?!" Sara laughed out loud, "Oh yeah, that would be a great idea. Just leave all my stuff lying around a sleazy motel for the owners to peek through while I'm at work."  
  
"Hey, hey" he said "calm down! It was only a suggestion. Maybe not a motel, maybe a hotel?"  
  
"And I'm supposed to pay for this fancy hotel how?" she said with a laugh.  
  
"Well, maybe," Grissom paused  
  
"Maybe what?"  
  
"Maybe you could stay with me for tonight. I have a spare bedroom that I think is fine,"  
  
"Oh, no no no." said Sara suddenly interrupting Grissom. She was now unsure and slightly nervous, "I couldn't do that, not with everything that's happened, everything that's going on." she trailed off,  
  
"Just for one night, and then you can have a look for apartments tomorrow." Sara's eyes narrowed slightly,  
  
"Ok, fine. But only for one night. And then I'm moving out." She said defiantly as a small smile appeared on Grissoms face.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
'What am I doing?' Grissom asked himself as he walked Sara to his car. He was suddenly nervous, and this sudden mood swing was causing him to sweat slightly. Sara had changed clothes, out of her pyjamas into the clothes she had worn to work that day. Grissom had told her not to bother getting changed, it would hold him up even more. She became annoyed when he told her this, the same way that Grissom was annoyed at himself for saying it. She refused to go, until he caved in and let her change. The truth was, he didn't necessarily want her to get changed - he thought that she looked beautiful in her old worn pyjamas, but she was obviously uncomfortable wearing them in front of him.  
  
"It's hot, isn't it?" said Sara as she climbed into Grissom SUV. 'Maybe it not just my nerves making me sweat then,' Grissom thought to himself. He grunted and nodded slightly in agreement, as he closed the car door and started the engine. The car rumbled into life, and he pulled out of the parking lot, swinging the car onto the road. Sara had wanted to take her car, but it had been so long since she, or anyone for that matter, had been to his townhouse that he was worried that she might get lost. Sara told him that this was impossible, that there was no way she would get lost, but Grissom would hear none of it. So there she was. The woman who he had turned down not one month earlier, sitting beside him in his car, staring out the window, her back towards him and her forehead against the glass. Her hair was no longer dead straight as it had been during working hours. Little waves of hair had escaped, and formed a small halo around her head, lit up by the city lights. He wasn't sure if she was asleep or just daydreaming, but he knew that waiting to arrive at his house, his home, where he lived in privacy, where he could live in silence. "How things have changed," he murmured to himself quietly as they drove through an intersection, and turned right into his street, "how they have changed."  
  
TO BE CONTINUED. 


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to, I don't own any of these characters.  
  
Note: This will probably be the longest chapter - I got a bit carried away. I'd appreciate any criticism if you think that there's anything that could be improved, changed, etc. Thanks guys!  
  
Chapter Three  
  
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"Wow," said Sara as Grissom's car pulled up to his townhouse, "cookie- cutter home."  
  
"Excuse me?" Grissom replied. He was surprised when she finally spoke after their thirty-minute car trip to his house, as they had sat in silence for the majority of the ride, with Sara staring out the window, watching the lights of Vegas quickly zoom by.  
  
"Oh, you know, a cookie-cutter home. You live in the middle of a group of five townhouses, each one exactly identical to the other." Grissom looked up at his house and saw that she was right. His house was the same as the others, and he was slightly surprised that he had never noticed it before.  
  
"Are they all the same inside as well?" Sara asked as she climbed out of the car. Grissom mirrored her movements, and soon they were standing side by side at the back of his car, Sara waiting for Grissom to open the boot so that she could get her bag out, Grissom engrossed in thoughts of what his neighbours homes were like.  
  
"I don't know," Grissom replied, opening the boot, "I've never been inside any but my own." Sara raised one long, slim eyebrow in her customary manner and looked at him quizzically. "Come on," he said as he took Sara by the elbow and motioned him towards his house, "Let's go in, it's getting late."  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
As Grissom slowly unlocked the door to his townhouse, his head was suddenly filled with an odd thought of weather or not his house was clean. 'Why am I thinking this?' Grissom asked himself. 'It's not like she'd care anyway, she's only staying one night, and then going straight to work.' Work. The word hit him straight away. He wouldn't be able to get away from Sara as he could at work. There, he could shut his office door, or put her on assignments that had nothing much to do with him. But here, in his home, there was nowhere to hide where she couldn't find him, nowhere to go when he wanted to be by himself. "One night, Gil. That's all it is. One night." He quietly said to himself as he opened the door. "Well, here it is," Grissom said as he stepped to the side of the doorframe and motioned with his right hand for Sara to come in. She squeezed in beside him, her bag gently knocking him on the knees as she did so. 'Damn. I should have taken her bag. That would have been the gentlemanly like thing to do.' This thought was soon taken out of his head as Sara began to speak.  
  
"It's nice," she said, "very . Grissom." Sara walked around his living room, looking at his books on the bookshelf and examining the butterflies and moths in cases on his walls. "Mmm," she murmured as she looked at one particular moth. It was a creamy white with a large black dot on each wing, "I know this one." Grissom walked over, interested in what she had to say. "It's a IO moth? That's right isn't it?"  
  
"How did you know that?"  
  
"Remember about a year ago we had that case with a woman who disappeared at a magic show, and you found a moth in the magicians basement, just like this one." Sara looked straight at him, and then back to the moth. Grissom was amazed.  
  
"You remember that?"  
  
"I remember everything you say," Sara said softly, looking away from Grissom. They were silent for a few seconds. Grissom didn't know what to say, and neither did Sara. He didn't want to be the first to speak. Sara's tone quickly changed. "So, what about the grand tour?"  
  
"Pardon?" she had caught Grissom off guard.  
  
"Aren't you going to show me around your house?"  
  
"Oh, yes, sorry. Well, this is the living room."  
  
"That I can see," replied Sara  
  
"Over there is the bathroom, kitchen, spare room, and my room," while he was speaking he gestured around, until he mentioned his bedroom, and his voice became quieter. Never in his entire life did he ever think that he would talk to Sara about his bedroom, let alone show her around his house.  
  
"So, I guess that I'm sleeping in the spare room then?" said Sara, turning her question into a statement.  
  
"Um, yes. Here, I'll show it to you." And then he opened the door.  
  
"Grissom," she said, "this isn't a bedroom." She was right. He had been using the room as a storage area, a place to keep old case files. There were folders in boxes all over the room, and multiple filing cabinets. "Is there even a bed in here?" he could tell that she was annoyed now. Sara had come all this way, all the way over to his townhouse, only to find that there wasn't a spare room like he had told her, only a storage area.  
  
"There's one in here somewhere," Grissom said. He had advanced into the room and begun to put away folders.  
  
"Listen, I don't want you to spend all night cleaning up just so I can sleep here one night and then move on."  
  
"No, no it's fine, see here's the bed."  
  
"Grissom" said Sara slowly walking towards him, her long legs carefully stepping over piles of case files.  
  
"I'll just get you some sheets and then -"  
  
"Grissom." Sara had interrupted him, "it's fine, really. I'll just go to a motel or something, like you suggested." She was standing beside him now watching him tidy up. He obviously wasn't listening to her and continued to clear up. "Grissom!" she grabbed his forearm gently, her long fingers wrapping around his arm. He looked at her hand, and then up to her face. She spoke slowly and quietly now, looking into his eyes. "I'll just find somewhere else to go." Find somewhere else - her words burnt into him.  
  
"No, Sara, don't go," he looked into her eyes, and she could see the concern he felt for her. "Stay." Sara sighed and her shoulders fell slightly. She had become stressed over the whole experience.  
  
"Fine." she whispered, suddenly exhausted. A little over two hours had passed since Grissom had found her in the lab, and Sara was ready to go to sleep. Grissom could see her tiredness, and he felt it too.  
  
"I have a couch and a bed," he said as he walked past her, out of the room. Sara followed and shut the door behind her. They were now back in the living room. "You can have the bed and I'll sleep on the couch."  
  
"No, Grissom, that's stupid. It's your bed, I'm only here for one night, I'll take the couch." She moved over to it and sat down. "See, I'm right at home here on your couch. Nice and comfortable." She bounced up and down a few times as she said it, just to prove her point. Grissom walked over to the couch and sat down beside her.  
  
"Sara," Grissom sighed, "I don't want you to be uncomfortable, and you're obviously too tall to sleep here." He placed his large hand on top of hers and looked into her eyes.  
  
"Is this some kind of sleazy pick up line you use on all the girls or -"  
  
"Sara," he said in a reprimanding tone  
  
"Sorry," she bluntly replied, "I was just joking."  
  
"And I was being serious. Now we're both too tired to be arguing. Sleep in the bed." Sara could tell that he was being serious this time.  
  
"Fine," she sighed as she got up and picked up her bag, which she had left at the front door. Sara began to walk over to his bedroom, "It's this room, right Griss?"  
  
"Yes," he replied, and followed closely behind her as she wrapped her hand around the doorknob and turned. The door opened and Sara stepped in. She could see his large bed in front of her, covered in a red and brown dust cover. The red and the brown merged into one another and formed soft swirls. It was beautiful.  
  
"Wow, Griss," said Sara as she went toward the bed and ran her fingers over the cover, "this is really." she paused, as if she was searching her mind for the right word. Sara looked at him ".beautiful." He watched as she sat down on the end and carefully traced one swirl with her finger. He saw how her hair fell over one side of her face, and the soft light from the street outside lit up her soft curls. He suddenly pulled himself back into reality and hastily stepped towards her.  
  
"My Grandmother gave it to me right before she died. I never used it until recently, actually." Sara watched him sit down beside her, and began to stare at him intently, surprised that he was sharing a small part of the life that she knew so little about. Even when she knew Grissom in San Francisco, she hardly knew anything about his personal life. And now he was opening up. And it scared her slightly.  
  
"Well, I like it." She said abruptly. "You should use it all the time." Grissom nodded in agreement, and stood up.  
  
"It's getting late. You should probably get some sleep."  
  
"Oh yeah," she replied, "Where's the bathroom again?"  
  
"There's an ensuite through that door," Grissom said as he pointed, "it's the only bathroom with a shower, so if I come through while you're sleeping, don't be surprised."  
  
"Ok," she said softly, "I'll get changed then."  
  
"Have a good sleep," Grissom said as he closed the door behind him.  
  
"I will!" Sara yelled back, unaware of how thin the doors were.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
As Sara slowly climbed into bed, she had to pinch herself to be convinced that she wasn't in a dream. Only yesterday she had told herself that she could never ever have a normal conversation with Grissom again, as he had been avoiding her for so long. She saw him in the corridor, but he always went into the next available room on some urgent business. Even when he handed out assignments, he didn't look her in the eye for more than two seconds. To Sara it appeared that he was deliberately avoiding her, and now, here she was in his townhouse, climbing into none other than his bed. She lay down in between the sheets and breathed in a familiar smell. Grissom. He was surrounding her, enveloping her, and as she rubbed her cheek against his pillow she sighed softly and closed her eyes.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
Grissom paced around his lounge room. 'Dammit,' he thought. He had left his pyjamas under his pillow, and didn't want to wake Sara. In fact, he didn't want to see Sara in his bed, her hair spilled over his pillows, eyes shut, slowly but rhythmically breathing. "What else can I do," Grissom said out loud. He walked over to the door and knocked quietly. "Sara," he whispered. 'No response. Now what do I do?' He tried again, this time a little louder. "Sara." 'Ok," Grissom thought to himself, 'here goes nothing.' He opened the door slowly and quietly. The light from outside entered through a small crack in his black-out blinds. It was now light outside, however because of the graveyard shift, his body was telling him that it was nighttime. Grissom could see the outline of her body in the dim light. She was asleep. He quietly walked towards the bed, and slipped his hand under one of the pillows. "Dammit," he muttered, "must be the other pillow." Grissom walked around to the other side of the bed and looked down at Sara. He whispered her name. She didn't move. 'God she sleeps heavily' he thought, as he reached down and gently touched her arm. "Sara." This time she murmured and rolled over. He tried again. "Sara, my pyjamas are under your pillow. Please wake up."  
  
"Griss," she said slowly and quietly.  
  
"Oh, you're awake. Good" he spoke in a normal tone. "My pyjamas are under your pillow, so if you could just lift your head for one second." she moved to the other side of the bed and grunted. "Thankyou." he said to her and walked out of the room and shut the door.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
"Grissom," Sara whispered as she stuck her head out of the bathroom door. She tried again, this time a little louder. "Grissom." No response. 'He must still be asleep' she thought to herself, as she remembered walking past him, seeing him fast asleep on the couch. She had been looking for his linen closet to get a towel so that she could have a shower. Sara gingerly opened the door some more, and hugged her towel more tightly around herself. Ever since Grissom had told her to use lemons to remove the unfortunate smells that accompany her job, she had never gone without. 'Ok, here goes nothing,' she thought, and Sara stepped out of the bedroom, and bumped right into Grissom.  
  
"Grissom!" Sara yelled in surprise.  
  
"Sara, I didn't think that you were up yet." He then saw what she was wearing - a towel. Sara could see him looking her up and down, and pulled the towel more tightly to her chest.  
  
"I was just looking for a lemon because I was having a shower, and I thought that you were still asleep because I called out to you, and you didn't answer, so I thought that you were asleep," she gushed, embarrassed being caught the way she was. Grissom stared at her in shock. "Oh look, there's one," she said, quickly moving towards his kitchen, "Ok, I'm having a shower, be back soon."  
  
"Ok," Grissom replied, amazed that he had seen Sara drop her cool for a few seconds.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
As soon as Sara reached the bathroom she quickly shut the door and leaned against it, going over the events that had just occurred in her head. "Well, there's nothing I can do about it now," Sara said to herself, as she stepped into the shower, "it's all in the past. All in the past."  
  
TO BE CONTINUED. 


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to, I don't own any of these characters.  
  
Note: Well, I said that last chapter would be the longest, but once again I manage to out-do myself. Please R&R! I really appreciate it, and I'd love to see who's reading it!  
  
Chapter Four  
  
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"Sara?" called Nick as he walked the halls of CSI. He walked into Greg's lab and peered in, "hey Greg. Have you seen Sara anywhere?"  
  
"Nah, I haven't," said Greg, his hair stuck up in its usual crazy way, "why, can't you find her?"  
  
"I saw her car in the parking lot, but she's not anywhere."  
  
"Weird," replied Greg. Nick sat down on one of the lab stools near Greg.  
  
"Yeah, I wanted to talk to her about some DNA we found in the suspects car," said Nick, looking out the windows of the lab, still searching for Sara, "she's usually here like, one hour before the shift starts, and I thought that we could start early, but I guess we can't now."  
  
"Hey, there's Catherine, maybe she's seen Sara," Greg said, pointing towards Catherine as she walked down the hall. Nick sprung up, and ran after Catherine, yelling thanks to Greg as he sped through the door.  
  
"Hey, Cat, wait up," yelled Nick as he chased her down the hall  
  
"Nicky boy, what can I do for you?" asked Catherine  
  
"I was wondering if you've seen Sara tonight," Nick said, puffing slightly trying to catch his breath  
  
"No I haven't. Why? Isn't she here?" Nick nodded. "That's strange. She's usually so punctual. Early even." They walked towards the break room, and Catherine spotted Warrick looking out the window, drinking a cup of coffee  
  
"Hey, Warrick," said Catherine as she walked up to him, and placed her hand on his shoulder, following his gaze out the window, "Have you seen Sara?"  
  
"Nah, I haven't," Warrick replied looking at Catherine. He took another sip of coffee and looked out the window.  
  
"Hey, that's Grissom isn't it?" said Catherine, pointing, as she, Nick and Warrick saw Grissom's car pull up to the CSI parking lot.  
  
"Yeah," replied Nick and Warrick at the same time.  
  
"Looks like there's someone else in the car with him," stated Catherine  
  
"Isn't that. no, it couldn't be. Sara?!?!" said Nick, startled by the sight of Sara climbing out of Grissom's car  
  
"She doesn't look too happy, man," said Warrick, "lucky I'm not working with her," he joked to Nick.  
  
'Hmm,' thought Nick, 'I know exactly what to do.' "Be right back!" he yelled at Cath and Warrick as he jumped out of his chair and ran down the hall  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
As Sara stepped out of Grissom's car the next night, she secretly prayed to herself that none of her work colleagues saw her. She looked over at Grissom. He looked like he was doing the same thing. Sara then looked up to the windows above the parking lot, and saw Nick, Warrick and Catherine looking down at them with stunned expressions. 'Damn,' thought Sara, 'maybe I can just hide in my car all day.'  
  
"Coming?" said Grissom to Sara as he walked towards the lab doors. She had paused at the door of his car, looking hesitant and unsure.  
  
"Oh, yeah, sure," replied Sara with a false assurance. She walked over to the lab with him, her bag in her hand. "Actually, I might just put this in my car first, and then I'll be right in, ok?" she gave him a weak smile. They had hardly talked after the shower incident. Grissom was convinced that Sara was mad at him, and Sara was upset about having let her guard down. Ever since Grissom's refusal she had built her walls even taller, only to let them crumble to the ground at the worst time possible. 'Well, I'm at work now, so I can hide from him all I like,' Sara thought to herself. She lifted up her bag and tossed it into her car boot with a large sigh.  
  
"Rough day?" Sara turned around with a jump, startled to hear an unexpected voice coming from behind her  
  
"Greg!" yelled Sara. He was standing behind her with a cigarette lighter and an old rag with a false compassionate expression on his face, pretending to be a bartender. She smiled. Greg always had a way to lift people's spirits by making them smile at inappropriate moments in the day. She turned back around to her car and shut the boot. "Now Sara, it's not just my psychic abilities that's telling me something's wrong," Greg joked, placing his arm around her shoulders as they began to walk towards the lab. Sara smiled at him, and removed his arm.  
  
"Listen, Greg, I appreciate your concern and everything, but I'm fine. I'm over it, and I don't want to talk about it."  
  
"Sara," Greg said, stopping and turning around to face her, "I'm just warning you, but you're gonna have to come up with a better excuse than that before you go in there." He motioned towards the lab. "Everyone saw you get out of Grissom's car." Sara could see Greg's concern. "Now, is it gonna be me or you who tells the world about your sex-capades with Grissom?!?!" he joked.  
  
"Greg!" Sara yelled for the second time that day, gently shoving him in the arm, laughing at the goofy lab-rat. They walked into the lab, and Sara signed in.  
  
"Hey Sara," said Nick as he approached her. He was uncertain of weather or not Greg had done his job and cheered her up  
  
"Hey Nick," Sara replied. She appeared not to be in a bad mood - Nicky's idea had worked, and Greg had had cheered her up. He put his hand on Greg's shoulder, and whispered a small token of thanks to the lab-rat. He nodded in response.  
  
"So-" Nick was suddenly interrupted by Sara  
  
"Nicky, if you're going to ask me why I was getting out of Grissom's car this morning it was because I was looking for a place to stay and he offered his townhouse, so I accepted." They were now outside the break room and walked in. Catherine and Warrick were in there, drinking coffee. They greeted Sara as Nick sat down on the couch.  
  
"Sara-" Catherine said. Like Nick, she was also interrupted  
  
"Cat, I know what you're going to ask, and it's what the rest of you are thinking," Sara went over to the coffee percolator and poured herself a cup, "I just stayed the night at Grissom's because I couldn't find anywhere else to stay." She moved over to the couch and sat beside Nick.  
  
"Don't worry Sara, we believe you," Catherine said with a sparkle in her eye, and a sarcastic tone in her voice  
  
"I'm telling the truth!" Sara half yelled, smiling  
  
"Oh yeah. I'm sure," Nick retorted back to Sara, also with a large smile on his face  
  
"I'm going to kill you Nick Stokes!" yelled Sara, jumping on top of Nick, tickling his sides.  
  
"All right, you two." Grissom had appeared at the doorway, and was clearly not impressed by the two CSI's behaviour  
  
"Sorry, Grissom," Nick said, pushing Sara off him. Sara sat back down on the couch, still smiling and laughing slightly as she flattened out her hair.  
  
"Alright, as you all know, Cath and Warrick will be continuing on their case, and Sara, Nick, we'll be going out to a D.B. in the desert." This got Sara's full attention  
  
"But I thought that Nick and I would be continuing on our original case?"  
  
"Day shift's got it." Grissom replied, looking down at his notes  
  
"But we've spent so much time on it -"  
  
"Sara," Grissom said sternly, "Eckly wanted it, so I let him have it."  
  
"But -" this time it was Nick's turn to butt in. He was not happy either. Grissom cleared his throat and the subject was quickly dropped. However the CSI's remained seated in the breakroom.  
  
"You can go now," he said, irritated by having to give permission to his team to leave. None of them were happy with his decision to pass over the case, and they all reluctantly got out of their chairs and walked out of the room. Grissom sighed. It wasn't his fault. The sheriff had placed so much pressure on him to pass the case over he couldn't refuse. If only the others could understand. Suddenly, he felt a hand gently touch him on the shoulder. He spun around violently, only to come face to face with Sara. She looked surprised by his sudden action  
  
"You coming?" she asked  
  
"Oh, of course," Grissom replied.  
  
"Nick and I will take a car, and we'll meet you at the scene, ok?"  
  
"Sure," Grissom said with a small smile he secretly reserved for Sara. She turned her back and began to walk down the hall  
  
"Hey, Griss," she yelled, turning around to face the man with a large smile on her face, "promise we won't touch anything before you get there." He smiled at her, this time a full smile, and watched her walk down the hall towards the doors.  
  
'Life is improving,' Grissom thought as he turned his keys in the ignition, and sped off to the crime scene.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
They had worked hard at the crime scene all night, meticulously collecting and documenting evidence. It was always hard to work in the desert, as it was not a confined space and evidence was everywhere, but Sara found the cool air refreshing and helped her to concentrate. It also cooled her flush when Grissom stood too close to her, or brushed her arm with his. Driving back from the scene she joked with Nick, and talked about possible murder scenarios. She and Nicky got on like siblings, and she loved it. Then the thought hit her. Where would she stay tonight? She had already outstayed her invitation at pretty much everyone's places, and some she didn't necessarily want to go back to. A hotel would be all right, if only they weren't so dirty. This thought kept her occupied all the way back to the lab, all the way through the processing of some evidence, and finally to Grissoms doorframe. She had stood there many times in the past right before going home but it had always been an active decision of hers to go there. This time, however it was different. It was as if she was pulled there, her body remembering the familiar steps to his door. She remembered the last time she stood there, when she asked Grissom out to dinner. The hurt afterwards was unbearable, however she had reassured herself many times that she had moved on. 'Or have I?' she asked herself for the first time in weeks.  
  
"Sara?" Grissom said, staring at her. She had been standing at his doorway for some time now, and he was unsure of weather or not he should say anything. She jumped in surprise. "Can I help you?" Sara looked uncertain for one second, and then quickly changed her body language walked into his office.  
  
'I haven't done this in a while, either' Sara thought to her self as she sat down on the chair opposite him. This move to his chair surprised Grissom, and also herself.  
  
"Um, yeah," she said looking down at her hands, and then up at Grissom, "You, see I still haven't found anywhere to stay yet and I was wondering." she trailed off, slightly embarrassed. Grissom smiled  
  
"If you're asking if you can stay at my place again, you're always welcome," This brought a smile to Sara's face, "you should know that by now," he added softly.  
  
"Thankyou," Sara said, quickly standing up, pleased, "this makes it all so much easier."  
  
"Well, I'm glad that I can help you," Grissom said, removing his glasses and looking at Sara. She smiled at him and got out of the chair. She began to walk towards the door when all of a sudden she turned around  
  
"Hey Griss," she said, "you can take the bed this time, since I'm trespassing on your property and all."  
  
"We'll talk about that when we get back to my place, ok?" Grissom said, still smiling at Sara as she once again headed for the door.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
As Sara drove through the busy streets of Vegas on the way back to Grissom's place, she remembered the conversation they had had before she left. Grissom still had piles and piles of paperwork to complete, and therefore couldn't leave for some time. Because of this he had given her his key, and told her to go "home". Sara sighed as she remembered how he had said it. Home. Such a simple word, but the way he said it, it just sounded so right. Home. Home was where he lived. Home was where she lived. Home was where people lived together, ate together, slept together, raised children together. 'Ok Sidle,' Sara said to herself as she pulled up to a traffic light, 'now you're taking this too far'  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
"Sara, I'm still going to be a while," he said to her as she sat in the breakroom watching television  
  
"It's fine, I'll just wait here," she replied back to him, not moving her gaze from the tv screen.  
  
'Whatever's on must be fascinating' Grissom thought to himself "Here," he said, burrowing around in his pocket, "take my key and go home." Sara looked at his hands fumbling with the key ring, trying to remove his house key.  
  
'He's so cute when he fumbles,' Sara thought. "Oh, give it here," she said, hastily grabbing the key ring from his hands. He watched as she expertly removed the key from the ring. "I'll see you soon then," Sara stood up and walked towards the door.  
  
"You too," he replied as he once again watched her walk down the halls towards the door.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
She turned at the traffic lights into his street and pulled up outside his house. As she got out of her car and walked over to the boot of the car, she breathed in the warm air. 'God I'll be glad for air conditioning,' Sara thought as she removed her bag from her boot and walked up the stairs to his townhouse. She unlocked the door and stepped into the darkness. Flicking on the light she walked over to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Sara then sat down on Grissom's couch and looked around his lounge room. She could see that he had a new TV, a DVD player, several cases of bugs on the walls and a bookshelf full of books. She got up and walked over so that she could observe his books closely. "Hmm, just like mine," she said as she observed his forensics books and magazines. She moved over to his CD's and noted that they were mainly classical music. 'I don't know much about classical music' Sara thought to herself. She suddenly realised how tired she had become. Driving had kept her awake and alert, however as soon as she stepped out of the car, she became drowsy. Sara reasoned with herself and decided that keeping active was the best way to stay awake until Grissom came home. Home. There was that word again. 'Keeping busy will also keep that out of my mind' Sara thought as she walked over to his spare room and opened the door. As she observed the piles and piles of case files in front of her, Sara smiled at the thought of giving Grissom a big surprise.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED. 


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to, I don't own any of these characters.  
  
Note: I have no idea where this chapter came from. I'm planning about two or three more chapters but I'll see how it turns out. Who knows, I might have five more!  
  
Chapter Five  
  
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"Morning, Griss" Sara said as she walked into the lounge room and headed for the kitchen. Grissom was sitting on the couch, sipping a cup of coffee and watching the news.  
  
"Good afternoon Sara" Grissom teased, "it's not morning anymore."  
  
"Whatever," came the voice from the kitchen. Grissom could hear cupboards being opened and water being boiled as Sara prepared her breakfast.  
  
"I boiled water about two minutes ago," Grissom said as walked over the kitchen doorframe and leant against it. Sara was bent over, rummaging through his cupboards  
  
"God, you have like no food in here." Sara sounded slightly annoyed as she continued her search  
  
"Probably because you ate it all," joked Grissom. Sara stood up and flashed a 100-watt smile at him  
  
"Shut up," she said, still smiling, as she slowly sauntered over to him, "you're dead for saying that Grissom." Sara continued to slowly walk over to him, however Grissom did not move. "You know I have a gun, don't you?" Her right hand slid over the bench top and grabbed a spatula.  
  
"Oh no you don't, Sidle" responded Grissom as Sara lunged for him, swinging the spatula around with a large smile on her face. Grissom stumbled into the lounge room backwards and tripped on the couch, falling backwards over the armrest, landing on the cushions. He quickly scrambled to the other side, as far away from Sara as possible, laughing at her. She continued to come at him, and leaped onto the opposite end of the couch from Grissom, landing on her knees. As she slowly climbed across the couch towards Grissom, still with the spatula, she tripped on a cushion and landed on top of him, madly laughing. They lay there together, Sara pinning Grissom down on the couch, laughing so hard her sides hurt.  
  
"Sorry," laughed Sara. That was all she managed to get out during her fit of laughter as she attempted to climb off Grissom. However she found that his arms that were wrapped around her waist prevented an easy escape. He was holding her to him. Sara quite liked the feel of his strong arms wrapped around him, and it was only when she heard the kettle boil that she began to struggle to get off him. "Grissom," Sara mumbled into his ear, "let me get up." Grissom quickly dropped his arms that were around her and allowed her to stand up. He hadn't even realised that he was preventing her from getting up, all he could concentrate on was the feel of her body upon him. He watched as she pushed herself off him and stood up, her faced tinged slightly pink from all the laughing. She walked into the kitchen and quickly turned the kettle off.  
  
'God, what were you doing, Sidle' she thought to herself as she poured the hot water onto the instant coffee that lay at the bottom of her mug. 'Attacking your boss like that is not cool. Although he was asking for it.' She grabbed a bagel off the bench that had just miraculously appeared and walked back into the lounge room.  
  
"Anything interesting on TV?" she asked Grissom as she sat down on the couch, folding her legs beneath her. Grissom noticed that she was still wearing her pyjamas. She had been sleeping in his spare room for two weeks now ever since she had cleaned it up. Sara noticed how much more comfortable she was around Grissom since she moved in and she was reaping the benefits. She felt that their trust had grown significantly and they had definitely regained the friendship they originally had when she first moved to Vegas. They had begun their flirty banter at work again and the whole team had become cheery again, pleased that Sara and Grissom were Sara and Grissom again.  
  
"Not really, just the news," Grissom said, replying to her question.  
  
"Well, if that's the case, and there's nothing really interesting on I might get ready for work." Grissom mumbled a response as Sara jumped off the couch still munching her bagel and walked into what had become her 'room'. As she gathered her clothes and headed for the shower, she found herself humming and broke out into a quiet song as she turned the water on.  
  
'I haven't done that for months' she thought as the hot water beat down upon her back, causing her skin to turn red and her veins to come up. She turned the shower off a few minutes later and stepped out of the shower into the steamy room. As she brushed her wet hair out and got dressed she could hear Grissom moving around in his bedroom. Sara smiled to herself as she thought of Grissom choosing what shoes and tie to wear. She was still smiling as she opened the door and came face to face with Grissom attempting to do his tie up.  
  
"Damn," he mumbled to himself as he fiddled with the renegade tie. Sara leant against the doorframe of the bathroom and smiled at him, the usually deftly Gil Grissom not being able to do a tie up.  
  
"Here," she walked over to him and grabbed the two ends of the tie hanging around his neck.  
  
"How do you know how to do this?" she shot him an accusing glare.  
  
"Growing up with an older brother and a father who thinks that you should be a boy does have some benefits Grissom," she said as she shot him an accusing glare, easily whipping the silk fabric around his neck, forming a perfect, neat knot. "There," Sara placed her hand on the tie, admiring her expert knot but really enjoying the feel of Grissom through his shirt, "all done."  
  
"Thankyou," he said softly, enjoying the soft feel of her hand on his chest. He touched her upper arm and smiled. Sara smiled back, looking into his eyes. She could feel the electric sparks between them as they both shifted closer to one another. Sara was looking at his lips now, imagining the feel of them on her own. She breathed in his scent, his unique smell that only Grissom had and that drove her wild. She sighed softly as Grissoms hand snaked around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He could see the desire in her eyes as she looked at his lips, licking her own in anticipation. She closed her eyes and moved closer. They could both feel the heat of one another's bodies escaping through their clothes  
  
"Sara," Grissom whispered as he bent his face down slightly, preparing to kiss her. Sara suddenly knocked him away as she jumped slightly  
  
"SHIT!" she yelled. The phone had rung suddenly, breaking the moment and scaring both of them. They looked at each other, unsure of what the other was thinking, unsure what to do. Sara answered the question for both of them. "Aren't you going to answer that?" Sara smiled and stepped away from him, watching him move around his room.  
  
"As soon as I find it," Grissom said as he fumbled around looking for his cell phone, "where the hell is it?"  
  
"Here," Sara triumphantly held up the ringing phone which she had found on the end of his bed, "see, no need for profanities"  
  
"Thanks," Grissom said as he took it from her hand. She smiled at him as his hand brushed against hers. "Grissom." He said as he answered the call  
  
Sara backed out of the room and into her own, smiling about their near-kiss experience. All he troubles had flown out the window. She had her answer, even if he had initially said no to her. He wanted her, and she had evidence to back that up. She looked in the mirror as she applied some lip- gloss and mascara.  
  
"Sara!" Grissom yelled, looking for her, unsure of where she had gone.  
  
"Yeah!" she yelled back, "I'm in here." As he walked into her room he could see her putting make-up on. He smiled as he observed her slim figure, remembering what had nearly happened in his bedroom. She turned around and looked at him.  
  
"We've got to go. A teenager found a janitor dead in a closet at a school."  
  
"Let me guess, you need me?" Sara joked, repeating the words he had once said to her.  
  
"Well, I don't know about you," joked Grissom, "we need the best so-" Sara smirked at him as she walked out of the door, brushing herself against him.  
  
"I'll see you at work then?" Sara grabbed her keys from the hook by the door and walked out. Grissom smiled. He loved the look Sara got on her face when he was teasing her.  
  
"Right behind you Sidle" Grissom replied, closing and locking the door behind him.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
"You're looking awfully chipper today," Catherine said as she walked into Grissom's office and sat down in the chair opposite him, "What happened? Did aliens come to earth and replace the old Gil Grissom with a new and improved model?" Grissom smiled at her question and took his glasses off, setting them down on the desk in front of him.  
  
"Hello to you too, Catherine," she smiled at his refusal to answer her question.  
  
"Something happen between you and Sara?"  
  
"Excuse me?" Grissom flushed slightly. Catherine noticed his response and decided to play with it.  
  
"Oh you know, you're extra happy and she's extra happy -"  
  
"Sara's extra happy?"  
  
"Uh huh," Grissom smiled to himself as he put his head down, pretending that his case file was riveting, "she was practically bouncing around the breakroom."  
  
"Could be too much coffee," Grissom replied, his head still down.  
  
"No, I don't think so. She practically kissed Greg," Grissom's head shot up.  
  
"What?!?!"  
  
"Whoa, calm down cowboy," Catherine said as she smiled, "I'm just joking!"  
  
"Oh," Grissom put his glasses back on, "Because I might have to suspend them both for that." Catherine took this as her cue to leave.  
  
"You know, Griss," she got out of her chair and walked over to the door.  
  
"What?" he looked up at her.  
  
"You two look good together. Go for it," Catherine smiled at him  
  
"Go for what?" Nick asked as he walked past Grissom's door. Grissom gave Catherine a pleading look. He didn't want to have to explain anything to Nicky.  
  
"Don't worry Nicky my boy," Catherine said as she put her arm around his shoulders, "just work related."  
  
"You know, Cath, you're really too short to be doing that," Nicky said, commenting on Catherine's arm around his shoulders. He smiled down at her as they walked into Trace together. Catherine turned around and smiled at Grissom once more before paying her full attention to the case at hand. Grissom sighed a sigh of relief as he secretly thanked Cath for saving him from a potentially bad situation.  
  
"What are you sighing about Griss?" It was Sara at his door this time. He looked up and smiled at her.  
  
"Oh, nothing. Just work related."  
  
"Oh ok," Sara said. She walked over to his desk and ran her index finger along the edge of it before sitting down in the chair Cath had just vacated. However, unlike Cath she swung her legs over one of the arms. She looked around his office slowly and finally her eyes came to settle upon him. Grissom's head was still bent over, reading a tox report. The curls on top of his head were going slightly grey and Sara watched his hand as he wrote a comment at the bottom of the report. His handwriting was fluid and smooth and as he finished his sentence with a full stop he looked up at Sara, who was staring intently at him.  
  
"Sara."  
  
"Yeah," she replied, still looking at him.  
  
"Do you need anything?" Grissom sounded slightly annoyed, however Sara chose to ignore this. He did not like being stared at for so long, especially by Sara who seemed to be doing it a lot lately.  
  
"No. Just sitting. And waiting -" All of a sudden Greg burst into Grissom's office, slightly out of breath.  
  
"Ok, got your DNA results back boss," the goofy lab-rat said, smiling at Sara, "and I think that it will make your day." Grissom looked at the sheet of paper Greg handed him and then looked at Sara.  
  
"We got a match. It was the principle after all." Grissom got out of his chair and put his coat on, "Let's go Sara."  
  
"K Griss," she replied as she followed him out of his office. Sara paused at the door and turned around to face Greg. "Thanks Greggo," she said, giving him a small smile  
  
"Anything for my favourite CSI, Sara," Greg replied, following Sara out the door and watching her walk down the hall way towards the doors  
  
"Bye Greg," Sara half yelled as she exited the lab, waving at him before shutting the door behind her and walking over the Grissom's car. She opened the door and climbed in. Grissom watched her as she pulled the seatbelt over her torso and clicked it in place. "Let's go get him"  
  
TO BE CONTINUED.  
  
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A/N: Hehehe you know that they can't kiss now don't you? The angst is yet to come.  
  
Ok, you know you want to. You see that little button down there on the left? The one that says 'Go'? Yeah, that one. Go on, click it and tell me what you think. Think of how long it took you to read that. Think of how long it took me to write it. Think how long it will take to press the 'Go' button and type two lines. You know you want to. 


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to, I don't own any of these characters.  
  
Note: I swear this story has a life of its own. I had it all planned out and then BANG! This chapter turns up. Once again, thanks for all your marvellous fantastic wonderful stupendous reviews. It makes me so happy to know that people out there in cyberspace are reading my own little bunch of 1's and 0's or pixels or whatever and that they are enjoying it : ) I think that there should be one or two more chapters but I never know with this story.  
  
Chapter Six  
  
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Sara pulled her car up outside Grissoms house and turned the engine off with a sigh. It had been a rough day at work. A bomb had exploded in a warehouse downtown and the whole team had been put on the case. They spent hour after hour at the crime scene, collecting and documenting evidence, working a double shift. Add to the physical and emotional exhaustion a double shift created, the extreme heat of the day caused Sara to be cranky. She had snapped at Nicky a few times, and he responded back with some sarcastic comments, but Sara could tell that she had hurt him. She had tried to apologise when they returned to the lab, but after she had put all of her evidence in for examining, Nicky had left. Grissom was still at the lab when she went home, always being the first to arrive and the last to leave. As she climbed out of the car, the Las Vegas heat once again greeted her with an unwelcome smack in the face. She sighed and ran up the stairs to Grissoms house and unlocked and opened the door. Its dark coolness gladly greeted her. She walked into her room, kicked off her shoes and changed out of her work clothes into her pyjamas. She then walked barefoot into the kitchen, grateful for the large, cool tiles on the floor. She opened the fridge and bent down, searching for something to drink. Sara grabbed the bottle of cold water that Grissom insisted on keeping in there and poured some into a glass, patiently waiting on the bench. She opened the freezer and dropped some ice cubes into the water. They crashed into the clear liquid, splashing some water on the bench.  
  
'I'll clean that up later,' Sara told herself.  
  
She strolled over to the couch and turned the TV on with the remote control. She channel surfed for a while, until a movie came on, which would at least entertain her a little while until Grissom came home. She hated going to bed without first seeing him, so she would often stay up for hours, waiting for the sound of his key turning in the lock. She had told him multiple times that it wasn't like she needed the sleep anyway, but he always argued with her about it when he arrived home. This time, however, it was different. The case had taken such a toll on her, both physically and emotionally; she soon fell into a deep sleep on the couch in the middle of the movie.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
"Sara," Grissom whispered, gently touching her on the shoulder from his kneeling position by the couch. She had been asleep when he arrived home from work, and she had not even stirred when he turned the TV off. "Sara," he said, this time a little louder, rocking her arm slightly. She mumbled something inaudible and turned over on the couch, subconsciously trying to get away from the touch that threatened to wake her. Grissom sighed and stood up, gazing down at Sara sleeping, watching a small lock of hair rise and fall every time she gently breathed out her mouth. He bent down and gently brushed it away, softly grazing his knuckles against her mouth. She stirred slightly and opened her eyes.  
  
"Grissom," she mumbled as she stretched slightly and slowly sat up, "why did you wake me up?" He smiled at her and sat down on the space her legs had vacated.  
  
"You were sleeping on the couch and I thought that after today it might be more comfortable in bed." She looked at him and rubbed her eyes.  
  
"Mm-kay," Sara replied, struggling to stand up. Grissom caught her under her arm before she fell back down on the couch. She composed herself and tried to stand again, with limited success.  
  
"Let me take you to bed," Grissom said gently, placing his arm around her back so that his hand rested on her waist. She stiffened a little at his touch and then allowed him to escort her to her bedroom where she fell, exhausted, onto the end of the bed. "Come on," he said, patting the pillows. Sara sleepily crawled up the bed and placed her head on a pillow, looking up at Grissom. He went down to the end of the bed and pulled the covers over her.  
  
"No," she said, sitting up, grabbing his arm. He looked down in surprise where her hand held his wrist, "it's too hot for those." She smiled at him and lay down on the pillows once again as he pulled the cover back down to the end of the bed. Sara crawled under the sheet that lay on her bed and lay down, facing Grissom who was standing at her doorframe.  
  
"Goodnight," he said, in response to her staring at him. She smiled back, still looking at him.  
  
"Night," she whispered back, as he turned around and shut the door behind him. Sara slid further down between the sheets and sighed gently, overwhelmed with tiredness once more. She shut her eyes and buried her head into the large soft pillows, welcoming the sleep which would soon envelope her.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
Sara awoke four hours later after a deep, refreshing sleep. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling in complete darkness until, finally, she decided to get up and eat some breakfast. Her stomach grumbled enthusiastically at the thought of food, as she had forgotten to eat when she came home from work. She quietly opened the door, fully aware that Grissom would still be asleep and padded out into the kitchen. Sara opened the cupboards in the kitchen and pulled out a box of cereal. Sara poured its contents into a bowl, tipped some milk over them and walked over to the couch, being careful to balance her bowl of cereal. She sat on the ground with a thud and leant her back against the couch. She turned the TV on with the remote and found the movie that she had been watching earlier, before she had gone to sleep. "Thank god for re-runs," she said to herself as she settled back to enjoy the movie.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
Grissom rolled over in bed and opened his eyes to the sound of cupboards being opened and closed. He smiled to himself, picturing Sara walking around his kitchen, getting herself breakfast and finally settling down in front of the TV as was her usual manner when she woke up first. He stretched out and rolled over to check what time it was. The clock read 6pm. Grissom grumbled as he kicked the sheets off himself and walked towards the bathroom, tripping over a shoe which he had kicked off the night before. "Shit," he swore, "what a way to start the day." Grissom smiled at his own little rhyme and walked over to the sink to brush his teeth.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
"Hey," Grissom said as walked into the lounge room. Sara was watching TV.  
  
"Hi," she answered back, not moving her gaze from the screen. Even though it was a terrible movie, she still wanted to know what happened in the end and did not want to be disturbed. Grissom walked out into the kitchen and prepared himself breakfast. As he walked back into the living room he joined Sara, who was now sitting on the couch, her breakfast bowl on the coffee table in front of them. She shifted over to one side of the couch allowing enough room for Grissom to sit beside her. She turned her head and looked at him, examining his breakfast with her eyes.  
  
"That's not a very filling breakfast you know." He looked away from the TV and saw that Sara was now completely facing him, her legs crossed underneath her.  
  
"And dried compressed corn swimming in a homogenous mixture of fat, cream and water is?" he answered back, smiling slightly. She grinned back at him, swatting him on the arm.  
  
"You know what I mean. And it's a low fat homogenous mixture I'll have you know, so it's mainly water anyway." she added defiantly.  
  
Grissom smiled at her comment and leaned back, instinctively placing his arm on the back of the couch, behind where Sara sat. He took another bite of toast. Sara watched as he brought it to his mouth and bit down on it. She suddenly became very hungry and licked her lips slightly. Grissom noticed a change in her attitude as she shifted slightly towards him and gave him a sweet smile. He knew exactly what she wanted.  
  
"You're not getting any," he told her firmly. She smiled back and eyed the hand that was holding the toast. All of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, she bent down and took a large bite out of it. Grissom gave her a fake shocked expression as she quietly giggled to herself.  
  
"Thanks," she said with a large smile on her face as she turned around and faced the TV once again. Grissom smiled at her fake innocence and batted her on the arm. They sat in silence watching the movie. Sara found herself leaning closer and closer into Grissom until she found that her shoulder had made its way under his arm. She smiled to herself as he draped his arm around her and pulled her closer. They sat like this, together, for the rest of the movie. As the credits began to roll, Sara stretched a little and stood up. Grissom watched as she rolled her head from side to side, rubbing her right shoulder occasionally as if she was in pain.  
  
"What are you looking at," she said smiling down at him, still rubbing her shoulder.  
  
"Here," he said, standing up behind her, "let me." He began to rub her sore muscle, searching for the knot that was causing her so much discomfort. She moaned slightly at his touch and sat down on the floor, allowing his easier access to her shoulder. He sat down on the couch and she moved between his legs, finding the most comfortable position. He massaged her shoulders, knocking her singlet-top straps to the side, enjoying the sight of her bare shoulders, and happy that he could touch her without the fear that she would run away from him or seriously injure him.  
  
"Mmm." she said, "that feels so good." Grissom smiled at her comment, as he brushed more of her hair to the side so that he could apply more pressure to her sore shoulder.  
  
"How come you never told me that you had magic fingers?"  
  
"Maybe because you never asked." She turned around slightly, smiling and, making it impossible for him to continue his massage. She stood up slowly, levering herself up using his legs for support. She rolled her neck, pleased with the improvement, and once again looked down at Grissom and smiled. He stood up in front of her, mirroring her smile and then looked down at her bare shoulder. He ran his hand up her arm and gently moved her pyjama straps back into their original position. His light touch sent shivers down Sara's spine, leaving hot tracks where his fingers had grazed her skin. Her gaze travelled from where he had touched her back up to his eyes and she gazed into their deep blue.  
  
"Sara," Grissom murmured, stepping closer to her.  
  
"Mmm." she replied, blushing slightly, following his lead and moving closer to him. She could feel his hot breath on her cheek as she turned her head away from him, watching as his hand once again ran up and down her arm. One of his arms snaked around her waist and she gently placed on of her hands on his chest. Sara could feel his skin burn were she touched at and this made her smile. She lifted her face up to his and gently whispered his name, looking into his eyes, seeing the passion and the longing that devoured him. She felt the same way and as the hand that was rubbing her arm moved up around the back of her head, the phone rang. This time neither of them jumped in surprise, instead looked over to where the offending object sat, yelling at them both, demanding to be answered. Sara smiled and ducked her head, pulling away from his touch. She smiled at him and walked over to the coffee table where it lay.  
  
"We've gotta stop doing this at this time," Sara said, smiling at him  
  
"Yeah," he answered, still rubbing her arm. They looked at one another for a few seconds, until Sara broke his gaze.  
  
"Aren't you gonna get that?" she said, walking over to the coffee table and handing it to him, slightly frustrated but happy at the same time.  
  
Grissom answered with a nod and reached for it, taking her hand at the same time. She looked at him and handed him the offending object as he gently kissed her hand. She smiled and turned her back, walking into her room to get changed for work. She knew that it would be Brass on the other end, informing Grissom about another crime that needed solving. She sighed as she pulled on her jeans and buttoned up her shirt. Grissom arrived at her door and watched her do up the last of her buttons on her top.  
  
"Brass?" she asked him, fully aware of what his answer would be. Grissom nodded in response.  
  
"We better go," he said, as Sara walked out her bedroom door, brushing her arm lightly against his body. He followed her to the front door and watched as she reached up for her keys and quickly stopped herself.  
  
"You know what," Sara said, turning around and smiling at him, "let's ride together today." Grissom looked at her and grabbed his keys, following her out the door. He observed her slim figure as she walked over to his car and leaned against the door. Sara sighed a happy sigh as she saw Grissom lock the door to the house and walk down the stairs, towards his Tahoe. He looked at her over the roof of the car and they smiled at one another as he unlocked the door and they both climbed in.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED.  
  
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A/N: Ahhh the angst! The angst of it all! Don't worry, it's gonna happen soon. I promise. So far this has been the hardest chapter to write, prob coz I didn't know where it was going or even what it was doing here and I had all this extra stuff that I cut out and I'm rambling now.  
  
So anyway, you know what to do - that little blue button on the left is waiting for you. See? It's screaming to be pushed, much like Grissom's phone is screaming to be answered. Thanks guys!!! 


	7. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to, I don't own any of these characters. Oh, yeah, I don't own the song either… 

Note: We're near the end people! There's probably gonna be one or two more chapters and then my WIP should no longer be a WIP. Thanks for all your great reviews!

I forgot to put this on my first post of this chapter but the song that I'm referring to is "Will You Remember Me" by Sara Mc Laughlin. It's a beautiful song and I think that it perfectly sums up GeekLove

Ok, I had to change the end of this chapter for many reasons but mainly because chapter 8 just wasn't working for me. But it'll be up soon, I promise!!!

Chapter Seven 

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 "Sara?" Grissom called as he opened the front door to his house. All the lights were off and the place was completely silent. Grissom was used to coming home and finding Sara on the couch, aimlessly watching TV, however tonight was different. Sara was missing. He wandered around the house some more, checking in her room, his room and knocking on the bathroom doors to see if she was there. She wasn't. Grissom walked into the kitchen, concerned where she was, worried for her safety. If anything had happened to her, it would be entirely his fault. He had insisted that he work on a Saturday when she had told him not to. Grissom remembered the despair in her eyes when he told her that he wasn't going to be there all day, leaving her all alone. As he reached for the phone to try and call Sara's cell phone, he saw a note on the fridge. Grissom could recognise Sara's handwriting from afar and smiled as he pulled it out from under the magnet which held it in place.

_Grissom,_

_Have gone out with Cath and boys for drinks. I wanted to wait for you until you came home but you know Cath – she's very insistent and she's demanding that we leave. Ok now she's walking out the door. See you soon,_

_Sara_

_P.S. It would be great if you could join us._

Grissom turned the sheet of paper over and looked at the address of the club she had left him. It seemed like a very un-like Sara place to go, but, as her note said, if Catherine was pushing her, she couldn't say no without putting up a fight. Grissom sighed and flopped down on the couch as he considered his next move. 

- - - - - - - - - -

Sara looked around the club as she stood at the bar with Greg and Nicky, waiting for their drinks to arrive. Catherine had dragged her here with the promise of a good time, when in fact Sara would have had a better time at home, in privacy, with Grissom. Sara sighed loudly, and looked annoyed.

"Hey, Sara, lighten up," Nicky said as she shifted uncomfortably on the bar stool, "we're here for a good time, remember?" He smiled his famous Texan smile at her and she unwillingly succumbed to his good mood.

"Yeah, I know Nicky." She smiled at him as she watched the bartender run around on the other side of the bar, collecting orders but apparently not acting on them.

"Could they be any slower," Sara muttered under her breath.

"I believe they could Sara," Greg said, placing his arm around her shoulders. She glared at him, and looked back at the bartender running around as Greg delicately removed his arm. Sara and Greg chatted idly together as Nicky turned to the girl next to him and began to flirt with her. Greg noticed and sighed.

"Why does he have all the luck," Greg moaned.

"Don't worry Greggo," Sara said, patting him on the shoulder, "the right girl will turn up one day."

"Are you saying that you're the right girl Sara?" Greg said with a grin.

Sara rolled her eyes at him. "Dream on," she said as she hopped off the bar stool and stood with her back against the bar. Her eyes wandered around the room, over the couples dancing, to the booth they had reserved, and finally to the door, where she saw Grissom standing, staring at her. She blushed slightly and smiled, smoothing down her skirt. Cath had dressed her before she left, insisting that she could not leave in jeans and a t-shirt. Instead, she had dressed her in a red skirt, long enough to be demure, but with a killer split at the back and a low cut black top. On her feet were champagne gold stilettos, which set off the red on her toenails. She felt like they were the only ones in the room as they stared into each others eyes for what seemed like eternity. He was mesmerised by her, and she by him. However, the moment was soon broken by Greg's loud and friendly call for Grissom to come and join them at the bar.

"Hey Griss!" he yelled out, waving his hand crazily. Grissom smiled at the young lab-rat and walked over, nodding at Greg. Sara looked him up and down, smiling to herself, pleased with the result. He had spent a long time getting ready, choosing the right clothes to wear and Sara could see that. She could also see something different in his eyes tonight, as if he had just come to a realisation.

"So Griss, what can I get you?" she asked with a smile. "Wait, don't tell me  -let me guess..." She leant over the bar, allowing Grissom a full view of her split and yelled at the bartender for another beer. Greg looked at Grissom who continued to stare at Sara. When their drinks were finally dumped in front of them, they each grabbed some and wandered over to their booth where Catherine and Warrick sat. Sara walked very close to Grissom, managing to brush herself against his arm. It sent shivers down Grissom's spine every time she touched him. When they finally made it over to their booth they dumped their drinks on the table and handed them out.

They sat and chattered for a while as a group, discussing trivial things, like how Greg managed to make his hair so crazy and what it would look like on Grissom. When Greg offered to do Grissom's hair one day he jokingly threatened to fire the lab-rat if he even came within an inch to him with a jar of hair gel. They chatted some more until Catherine pulled Warrick up and demanded that he dance with her. Greg made a crude joke about Catherine's 'dancing' and she swatted him over the head with her hand. Grissom, however, did not notice, content to watch how the light played with Sara's hair when she turned her head to speak, or when she threw it back in laughter. Soon after Catherine and Warrick got up to dance, Greg went to the bar to buy another round of drinks for them all. As soon as he made it to the bar, he joined Nicky and began to flirt with any and every girl there.

Sara gazed over to the bar where Greg and Nicky were joking and flirting and smiled, sighing slightly as lent back into the booth, tapping on her near empty beer bottle. She looked over to where Grissom sat opposite her, laughing to herself as she saw how he looked more and more irritated as she tapped on the bottle. She began to tap it harder and faster, deliberately annoying Grissom. He looked at her smiling face and reached out to grab her hand.

"What?" she asked him, smiling and leaning forward a little towards him

"You shouldn't do that." He also leant forward, mirroring her as he wrapped his hand around hers. The tapping stopped from the pressure of his hand and they smiled at each other. She slowly wiggled the bottle out from under his hand and took a swig from it. His expression nearly killed her with laughter.

"Haven't you ever seen a lady take a swig of beer before?" she joked, finishing off the drink. He smiled at her comment and leant back in the booth once more, watching the couples on the dance floor. All of a sudden, Sara nudged him under the table with her shoe.

"It is alright to talk, you know,' she said quietly, rubbing his leg with her foot. Grissom smiled at her and leant forward, prepared to speak when a pile of beer bottles landed in front of them. Greg and his drinks had arrived, along with Nicky who he had managed to drag away from the bar. Greg handed out the drinks with his usual finesse, bowing deeply when Sara took hers. She laughed at his joking behaviour and his flirtatious comments, as he took the seat beside Sara. They talked together as a group until a breathless Catherine and Warrick returned.

"Man, that girl can dance," Warrick said, resting his arm on the table. She had worn him out.

"Ahh, Warrick," Cath said, patting him on the shoulder, "it used to be my job." Greg raised an eyebrow and Catherine hit him on the arm. "Not on your life, Greg," she said sternly. As they went to sit down, Sara stood up and climbed out of the booth, moving over to Grissoms side of the table.

"You know what guys, I might sit here." Catherine raised one eyebrow as she motioned towards the spot next to Grissom. "What!" she exclaimed, looking at Catherine. "There's more room!" She proved her point by hastily sitting next to Grissom, nearly landing on top of him. He blushed slightly, and moved over, allowing her to have more room. As they began to talk again, he found that his arm subconsciously made its way around her back, and her hand made its way onto his leg, gently rubbing little circles. They talked some more, the only ones aware of their close contact. Sara sighed and leaned back into Grissom, looking at the dance floor.

"You seem to be doing that a lot lately," Grissom whispered in her ear as he took in the sweet smell of her shampoo. She turned to face him and smiled, saying nothing. They sat in silence together, listening to the others talk. A slow song was put on and Catherine suddenly sat up, exclaiming how much she loved the song. Sara agreed and turned to Grissom, contemplating something. She sat still for a second and then turned to him.

"Would you like to dance with me?" she asked, standing up, offering him her hand. He looked up at her and then back at the group.

"Go on Gil," Catherine said, amused by his expression of amazement, and pushed him up.

_I will remember you  
Will you remember me?  
Don't let your life pass you by  
Weep not for the memories_

They walked over to the dance floor, hand in hand, ignoring the catcalls from the booth they had just vacated. They stopped in the middle of the dance floor, and Sara moved into him forming a dance position, his hand on her hip, her hand on his shoulder, their hands pressed together. They began to slowly dance.

_Remember the good times that we had?  
Let them slip away from us when things got bad  
Clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun  
Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one_

Sara looked up at Grissom and smiled slightly. She intertwined her fingers with his and he rubbed her hand. She sighed and lent further into him, lapping up his scent. She smiled to herself as she felt his hand move further around to her back, slowly rubbing it in small circular motions.

_I will remember you  
Will you remember me?  
Don't let your life pass you by  
Weep not for the memories  
  
_

She moved her hand away from his and wrapped both her arms around his neck, burying her face in his neck. He felt her fingers play with the hair at the base of his neck, gently twirling his curls. His hands slipped down, finding their way to her hips as he gently cradled them.

_I'm so tired but I can't sleep  
Standin' on the edge of something much too deep  
It's funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word  
We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard_

Their dancing slowed down until they were barely moving, their feet slightly shuffling and their hands slightly moving, holding each other in this intimate embrace. Sara lifted her head off his shoulder and looked into his eyes. He leant his head forward, pressing his forehead to hers. She gazed into his deep blue eyes and smiled.

_But I will remember you  
Will you remember me?  
Don't let your life pass you by  
Weep not for the memories  
  
_

"Sara," he murmured.

"Shhh..." she told him, placing a finger on his mouth to stop him from speaking. She gently pressed her finger against his lips, and he kissed it as if it was the most precious thing on earth. She closed her eyes and leant into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

So afraid to love you, more afraid to loose  
Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose  
Once there was a darkness, a deep and endless night  
You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light  
  


She felt Grissom lips begin to kiss her jawbone, slowly, gently, his breath tickling her skin. She smiled to herself, perfectly content to stay like this, in this position for the rest of her life. For the first time in months, she felt completely safe and secure, wrapped up in his warm embrace.

_And I will remember you  
Will you remember me?  
Don't let your life pass you by  
Weep not for the memories_

They stayed like this, wrapped together, hardly moving, until the song finished. Sara was the first to pull away, wrapping her arms around his waist as she moved away from him.

"Thankyou," she whispered to him, pressing her lips to his cheek, smiling at the same time. She slowly turned around and grabbed both of his hands behind her back, leading him back to the table. Then, she suddenly stopped. Grissom bumped into her, catching her hips as he fell forward slightly. She did not move, glued to the spot where she stood. Grissom followed her gaze to a man and his young female partner who had just entered the room. He watched as the young lady held out her left hand for the group that had gathered around them, showing off her sparkling ring. Then he recognised the man. Hank. Hank the cheating bastard had proposed to his girlfriend. Sara did not move. He turned her around, his hands still on her hips, breaking her gaze from the happy couple. She stared straight past him, tears forming him her eyes, not saying a word.

"Sara," he said, trying to get her attention.

"I can't... I have to…" she mumbled as she knocked his hands out of the way, tears beginning to fall as she ran out of the room. Grissom stood there, unsure of what to do. He suddenly ran back to the table and grabbed her bag, ignoring Catherine's calls of where he was going. Grissom ran out the door, letting it slam behind him as he desperately searched for Sara. He called out her name. No response.

"Of course there'd be no response you idiot," he said to himself, jogging into the car park. Then he saw her, sitting on the footpath, her feet in the gutter, her head between her hands.

"Sara?" he asked as he walked over to her. She sat up slightly and sniffed quietly. "Sara, shh… it's alright," Grissom said as he sat on the pavement next to her, placing his hand on her back, rubbing it gently. She continued to look down into the gutter, her hair falling over her face as Grissom began formulating plans on ways to hurt Hank, who Sara let into her heart and who destroyed it so badly. He could not stand the sight of Sara hurting. "Shh… honey, it's going to be alright…"

"No it's not!" she exclaimed, suddenly standing up and knocking his hand off her back. "You saw what he did, and… and… and you're telling me that it's going to be alright?!?" She stormed off down the street, her heels clicking as she began to run. "SHIT!" Sara yelled as one of her heels broke and she fell off it, landing on the street with a thud. Grissom ran after her and helped her get up as she bent down and took both her shoes off. She let them drop to the ground and Grissom took her by the waist holding her to him, ignoring her resisting struggles as she sobbed loudly. "Shit," she swore over and over again, until it became a quiet whimper and she finally stopped fighting Grissom, falling into him in a wave of tears. He did not speak, instead letting Sara release all her anger and emotions through tears and sobs. Grissom held the back of her head to him and when he was sure that she had calmed down he pulled away from her.

"There," he whispered, "all better." She sniffed and wiped beneath her eyes. Grissom pushed a lock of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear, running his finger along her jawbone.

"Why are you so nice to me?" she asked, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Because you deserve some one who's nice to you," he said, as he rubbed his thumb across her cheek, gently wiping some tears away. She smiled at him and looked up into the night sky. Grissom followed her gaze and smiled softly, looking back down at Sara. "Come on," he said gently, taking her by the hand and leading her to his car, "Let's go home."

TBC…

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Ch 8 is coming soon!!! I promise. I had to change the end of this chapter so that the next chapter would actually work. The fluffiness just wasn't working with my old chapter 8. Please review!!!!


	8. Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to, I don't own any of these characters. 

Note: I am so extremely sorry for changing the end of Chapter 7!!!! All that's different is the very last line. Changing it was the only way that this story was going to work out and it was the original way that I planned it to happen, but I stupidly decided to change my plan and put in something else but, alas, that did not work. I've put in the new and improved ending to Chapter 7 at the beginning of this chapter. 

Chapter Eight 

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_Previously:_

_"There," he whispered, "all better." She sniffed and wiped beneath her eyes. Grissom pushed a lock of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear, running his finger along her jawbone._

_"Why are you so nice to me?" she asked, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth._

_"Because you deserve some one who's nice to you," he said, as he rubbed his thumb across her cheek, gently wiping some tears away. She smiled at him and looked up into the night sky. Grissom followed her gaze and smiled softly, looking back down at Sara. "Come on," he said gently, taking her by the hand and leading her to his car, "Let's go home."_

- - - - - - - - - -

The car ride back to the townhouse was silent. Sara had not said a word to Grissom after he had led her to his car, however the silence was not uncomfortable. Sara slumped against the passenger door as soon as she had climbed in the car and had leant her head against the cool glass of the window. She stared out the window, watching the Vegas lights zoom by as they drove through the centre of town. She sighed quietly as she remembered the first time she had seen these lights, right after Grissom had called her so desperately in need of help. Even though they had not talked for years and had slowly drifted apart, Sara had not forgotten him and found it comforting that he had not forgotten about her. She looked at Grissom through the reflection on the window. He was staring straight ahead, carefully guiding their way home. He sensed that she was watching him and glanced over at her, only to see the back of her head.

Sara moved her head off the glass and leant further back against the car seat, shifting slightly to make herself more comfortable. She shut her eyes and sighed heavily, suddenly tired. She rolled her head to one side and once again stared out the window. The streets they were driving down became more and more familiar as they neared home. Sara remembered the first night Grissom had taken her back to the house, so she had somewhere to stay. That was two months ago. His home had become hers, her belongings in her bedroom, her vegetables filling the fridge, her books in the bookcase, her presence filling his home. She had fitted into Grissom's life so easily, quickly learning his daily routine. It felt like she had been there for years. Her feelings for him had once again blossomed into full-fledged emotions once again. She noticed how his touch would linger longer than necessary, how comfortable they were around each other at home. How close they had come to kissing, how close she had been to touching him in a way she had only ever dreamt about. That is, until she saw Hank once more. She no longer felt anything for him, he had been a distraction for her throughout their relationship, so that the pain of Grissom ignoring her could be dulled somewhat. She shuddered slightly as she remembered her reaction to seeing him again at the nightclub. Seeing him made her realise how quickly he had moved on, and how slowly her new relationship with Grissom was progressing.

"Hey," Grissom said softly, gently touching Sara on the leg, causing her to jump. "Are you ok?"

She looked over to him and smiled weakly, "Yeah. I'm just tired."

He masked his concern for her by a small smile. "We're nearly home." She had been quiet the entire car trip however he did not want to pressure her, instead giving her privacy. Grissom was convinced that if Sara wanted to talk, she would. He hated seeing her hurt, and hated seeing her cry even more. He sighed quietly and pressed the accelerator a little more.  

Sara watched him as he drove, how his hands gently gripped the steering wheel as he turned a corner, how the tips of his hair would gently light up whenever they passed a streetlight. She lent back in her seat and remembered what his hair felt in her hands. A small smile formed on her mouth as she thought of his arms one again wrapped around her, keeping her safe, warm, making her his. She turned her head slightly and smiled at him as he pulled into the driveway and turned the car off. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Grissom finally spoke.

"We should probably go in," he said, looking over at Sara. She looked at him and smiled gently, this time not a forced, weak smile, but one that came from the very depths of her soul. Her eyes shone as she spoke.

"Hey Griss?" Sara whispered.

"Yeah," he said softly back.

"Thanks," she said, shifting slightly onto her hip so that she could face him fully.

"For what?" Grissom asked.

Sara gently touched the side of his face, cupping his cheek in her hand. "Don't worry. Just, thanks." Grissom looked at her, slightly confused but happy for her touch.

"Sara," he started, as she tenderly ran her thumb over his cheek.

"Shh…" she whispered as she leant over to the car door. Sara reached out and grabbed the handle, pulling the door open. "We better go in."

Grissom watched as Sara gracefully stepped out of the car, and carefully walked up the stairs in bare feet, her broken shoes in one hand, her bag in the other. Grissom sighed and hopped out of the car, chasing her up the stairs to open the door for her. She smiled as she brushed past him, dropping her bag on the table by the door.

"I might go to bed now, if that's ok with you." She said as she walked down the hall towards her bedroom door and turned slightly. Grissom smiled as an answer and watched as she opened and shut the door behind her. He walked out into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, running his hand through his hair. Grissom bent down and opened the freezer and grabbed some ice cubes for his drink. He walked over to the couch and kicked his shoes off. Sara's belongings were all around him. Her sweater lay on the seat beside him in a heap. She had left it there the night before, once again whist she was waiting for Grissom to come home. She was not asleep when he had found her there on the couch; instead she was wrapped up in the jumper, reading a novel. Grissom closed his eyes as he remembered her smile when he had come in – her entire face was lit up. He had questioned her about the novel and she mentioned how she was 'expanding her horizons'. He had joked with her about it and together they had shared a bottle of wine, not caring what the time was or how long they had until it was time to go back to work.

"Hey," Sara said, startling Grissom awake from his daydream.

"Hey," he replied. She was leaning over the couch beside him, her hair falling down beside her face. "What are you doing up?"

"I was thirsty." Sara replied as she pushed herself off the back of the couch and walked into the kitchen. She returned several minutes later with a glass of water in her hand and sat on the couch beside Grissom. "You should go to bed," she told him, looking intently into his eyes. He sighed and stretched slightly.

"What about you? Shouldn't you also be in bed?"

"I'm not tired anymore," Sara replied, leaning back into the couch, making herself more comfortable. She grabbed for the remote on the armrest beside her and turned the TV on. "You don't mind, do you?" she asked, motioning at the television.

"Not at all," Grissom said, smiling at her.

"It helps me get to sleep," Sara said out loud, more to herself than to Grissom and directed her attention to the news channel. She curled up on the couch in the foetal position, her toes gently brushing against Grissom's leg. She strained a little, not sure of his reaction if she stretched her legs across him.

"Here," he said, grabbing her legs and stretching them out over his lap.

She sat up slightly and smiled before lying back down again. "Thanks."

Grissom watched her as she lay on the couch, staring at the television. He wondered if she actually absorbed any of the information they were being told by the anchorwoman but judging by the way her eyelids were slowly drooping, he guessed not. Grissom leant further back into the couch and placed his feet up on the coffee table in front of him, being careful not to disturb Sara too much by his movements. Before long Sara had fallen into a deep sleep, and Grissom soon followed, comforted by the feel of her legs on top of his. 

- - - - - - - - - -

Sara awoke on Monday afternoon and leisurely stretched her legs out in front of her. She rolled over onto her back and brought her arms up above her head, yawning loudly. It was her day off, and boy, was she prepared to enjoy it. As she settled back into the pillows and closed her eyes, she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," she mumbled sleepily, turning on her side. Grissom opened the door slightly. She groaned as she sat up slightly, running her hand through her hair.

"I'm going to work now."

"Mmkay," she replied, rubbing her eyes gently. "Have a good day!" she called out as he closed the door gently behind him. Sara lay back down and stretched again, but soon found that she could not get back to sleep. "Damn Grissom," she mumbled jokingly to herself, smiling as his name ran across her lips. She sleepily walked out into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of orange juice, rubbing her eyes as she looked out the kitchen window. Sara turned around and headed for the kitchen bench where the morning paper lay. As she sat down on one of the stools and took a sip of juice, she noticed Grissom's pager lying beside her. She picked it up and turned it in her hand, feeling its cool weight on her palm. Sara checked the clock. 'Grissom should be at work by now' she thought to herself. Sara reached over to the end of the bench and grabbed the phone, quickly punching in Grissom's cell phone number.

- - - - - - - - - -

As Grissom walked the halls of CSI, his cell phone unexpectedly rang. Grissom smiled slightly as he checked the display of his phone.

"Sara," he said, as soon as he flipped the phone open, "what are you doing up?"

"And hello to you too," she said, laughing slightly at his phone answering techniques. She slumped down onto the couch, pager in one hand, phone in the other.

 "Seriously Sara, you should be in bed where I left you." Grissom said as he walked down the hallways towards his office, receiving several odd glances from lab-techs. He blushed slightly and quickened his pace.

"What are you like running or something?" she joked about the slight panting nose coming from the other end, resting the phone on her shoulder and running her hand through her hair. She heard Grissom's door close and his heavy sigh as he slumped down into his chair. "Actually I rang because you left your pager at home."

"I left my what at home?" he asked, shifting in his chair as he felt around his pockets. "Damn," he muttered to himself as he realised that she was right. Sara smiled at his response.

"I can come by and drop it off to you if you like?" she asked

"No!" he exclaimed down the phone. "It's your day off. Enjoy it. Don't come to work." He heard her sigh heavily. 

"How else are you gonna get it then?" Sara asked, now frustrated.

"I'll come home."

"Don't be stupid Grissom," Sara said, standing up. He sighed, knowing that she was right. "I'll be by in about an hour or so. Ok?"

"Ok," he said with a sigh.

"See you then."

"Bye," Grissom said before snapping his phone shut. The last thing he wanted Sara to do was to come in on her day off. He checked the rosters for the next week and decided that she should get another day off, weather the others liked it or not.

- - - - - - - - - -

Sara skilfully pulled her Tahoe up into her parking spot outside the lab and swiftly turned off the engine. She had had a quick shower and thrown on some casual clothes, not planning on staying long. Sara reached over to the glove box beside her and pulled out her ID badge, clipping it on to the front of her shirt. She hopped out of the car and walked towards the lab, smiling at some colleagues who she had seen occasionally in the hallways. Sara pushed open the lab doors and nodded slightly at the receptionist. She walked past security and towards Grissom's office, waving at Greg as she passed his lab. She approached his office and knocked on the door pushing it slightly open as she knocked.

"Hey," she said softly. Grissom looked up at and smiled, standing up a he did so.

"Hi," he said in response. She walked over to his desk and sat down in one of the chairs opposite him.

"Here's your pager," she said cheerfully, reaching into her pocket and pulling it out. She placed it down in front of him. "How's you day been?" she asked, looking around his office. Her eyes eventually rested upon him.

"Fine," he said, twirling his glasses in front of him. "Catherine and Warrick are out on a case and Nicky is in the layout room, examining evidence." She nodded in response.

"Sounds good," Sara said idly, running her hair through her hair. "What are you doing?" she asked, leaning forward and resting her elbows on his desk, her chin in her hand and her eyes staring intently at him.

"Reports," he said, leaning forward to mirror her. She smiled at him, lighting up her entire face.

"Thrilling," she said sarcastically, leaning back in her chair, yawning slightly.

"Listen, Sara," he said to her, his tone becoming more serious. "Why don't you go home and get some sleep?"

She grumbled in reply. "I probably should." Sara pushed her chair back with a groan. She stood up relunctedly and walked towards the door.

"Bye," Grissom said, smiling at her. Sara smiled in response and walked down the hallways towards the exit, waving goodbye to Greg as she once again passed his lab. She walked into the breakroom and over to the coffee percolator and began to pur herself a cup of the warm, dark liquid. As she reached into the fridge and grabbed the milk, she heard Catherine talking and laughing loudly with Warrick in the hall. Sara smiled as she poured the milk into her coffee and stirred it, letting the white seep into the black, forming a light brown colour.

"Hey, Sara," Warrick said, walking into the breakroom and sitting down on one of the chairs.

"Hey guys," Sara replied, knocking the fridge door closed with her hip.

"Ooh, coffee," Catherine exclaimed, walking over to the percolator.

"It's just brewed," Sara said, claiming her position on one of the chairs.

"I thought you were off today?" Warrick asked, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees.

"Yeah," Sara replied, leaning back into the chair and taking a deep sip, "Grissom left his pager at home so I thought that I'd bring it in."

"You two still living together?" Catherine asked, moving over to the chairs.

"Uh huh," Sara replied. Catherine raised one eyebrow.

"Hope it doesn't interfere with your work too much," she mumbled under her breath. Sara sat up straight, the tension in the room suddenly increasing.

"Excuse me?" she said accusingly.

"I'm just saying, you and Grissom living together for a long time… we've all seen the sparks fly between you two. I just don't want it to compromise your work."

"When have I let anything ever compromise my work? And since when are you my supervisor?" Sara was clearly angry by now.

"Mmm exactly … he is your supervisor," Catherine mumbled under her breath.

"Hey, hey," Warrick said, reaching over and pushing Sara's shoulder back slightly, so her body language relaxed a little. "Let's just take it down a notch in here, shall we?" Sara looked over at Catherine who was smirking slightly, and then down at her mug, which was now empty.

"I might stop interfering with your work now and go home," she said angrily under her breath, standing up and walking over to the kitchen area where she proceeded to place her mug down harder than necessary.

"See you tomorrow," Catherine said over her shoulder, taking a large sip of coffee. Warrick rolled his eyes at Catherine as he sighed and got up to run after Sara. As she stormed down the hall and pulled open the doors, Warrick caught up to her and grabbed her arm.

"Whoa, Sara," he said, puffing slightly, "calm down a second."

"Why should I?" Sara said, clearly annoyed

"Catherine, what she said in there… she's just worried, that's all." Sara shook her arm out of Warricks grasp and walked over to her car, Warrick following her close behind. Sara sighed as she unlocked the door and opened it.

"I just don't get her," she said, sounding exhausted.

"She just doesn't like someone taking her queen-bee position, that's all," he said, looking her straight in the face.

Sara snorted in response. "As if I'm the queen-bee around here. She has seniority over both of us."

"Maybe so," Warrick said, "but you're with Grissom both at work _and_ after work. And she can't be in control when you're around him all the time."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Sara said, climbing into her seat and putting on her seat belt. Warrick shut the door behind her.

"Hey," he said, leaning in through her window, smiling, "it'll all turn out ok."

"I hope so. I just hope that moving in with Grissom wasn't the biggest mistake in my life." She said, leaning back in the seat.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I haven't seen you this happy since you first came to Vegas, and we're all grateful for that." Warrick said with a cheeky grin. Sara smiled back.

"Thanks War," she said before pulling out of the car park and waving good-bye. As Sara pulled onto the main road and sped home, she contemplated what Warrick had said. He was right in a way. She had taken Catherine's position. Now she was the most influential woman in his life. Sara smiled to herself and turned the radio up, loudly singing along with any song that came on.

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Ok, one more chapter. I think. Please review and tell me what you think, or if you want me to continue or whatever. Constructive criticism is most appreciated. Just remember – it took me a hell of a long time to get this chapter right so don't be too mean : )


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